JUST WHEN IT LOOKS as if the gray days of winter will
never end, American Express brightens the day for millions
of Costco members with their annual rebate checks. Each
February, American Express includes a rebate check in
their True Earnings® Card statements, payable toward
merchandise at Costco.

The True Earnings Card pays an annual rebate of
a full 3 percent on all restaurant purchases, 2 percent on
travel-related purchases and 1 percent on all purchases
at Costco and everywhere else. And coming soon is an
additional rebate of 3 percent on gas purchases! You

can read more about the American Express True Earnings Rebate Card on page 70.

What will you get with your rebate?

Speaking of rebates, Costco Executive Members earn up to an additional $500
per year on most of their Costco purchases, but that is only part of the story. Executive
Members also receive many other benefits and savings on a variety of personal, business
and financial services, as described on page 77. To get the most out of your membership
and earn the greatest rebate, sign up for the American Express True Earnings Rebate
Card and upgrade to Executive Membership.

Finally, don’t forget Valentine’s Day on February 14. Your favorite wine collector would
love a 2005 Bordeaux, said to be one of the best vintages of the past two decades (page 41).
You can also send three dozen long-stemmed roses to your valentine for $59.99 on costco.com.
If your sweetheart prefers sweets, consider the gift set of award-winning Theo Chocolates, also
on costco.com. Theo is the only true bean-to-bar maker of organic and Fair Trade
Certified chocolate (page 75). Fine chocolate would go great with that 2005 Bordeaux.

Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us at Costco! C

Ginnie Roeglin is Senior Vice
President, E-Commerce and
Publishing, and Publisher of
The Costco Connection.

from the editor’s desk

David W. Fuller

THERE IS A BRIEF piece of writing in this issue that I
hope you will take an extra moment to read. Author Robin

Sharma’s “The Positive Workplace” column (“Anyone can be
a leader,” Fresh Views, page 9) deals with the subject of leadership. And it makes some points well worth pondering. ”

But there is more to this column than its discussion
of leadership. David W. Fuller is Assistant

What struck me as remarkable was the way in which Vice President, Publishing, and
Sharma wove into the piece, by way of example, an ode to Editor of The Costco Connection.
his departed friend Greg Brophy. In opening this personal
loss to his readers—you—Sharma demonstrates the fearlessness we all should have in expressing our stories, even in times of anguish. The open heart nearly always offers comfort
and, yes, leadership to others. Yet how rare it is to see genuine openness in the mass media.

A writer’s willingness to share his deepest beliefs, anxieties or triumphs with his readers is, perhaps, one antidote to the kind of mass-media blathering that annoys all of us,
even as we continue to consume it—the stories about celebrity misadventures, political
duplicity or violent crime.

The Costco Connection has placed itself firmly in the camp, not of “good news,” but
of what we hope our readers agree is worthy news. It is a camp that welcomes the type
of openness demonstrated in Sharma’s column. It is a camp that searches for values and
concerns among its writers and readers that go beyond momentary prurient interest.

Certainly The Connection wants to introduce you to the value of Costco’s products
and services. That is, as they say, job number one. But, as with Sharma’s column about
leadership, sometimes the subtext can be just as valuable. C